I've recently noticed that my car's exhaust starts smoking white or light greyish smoke after its been running for a few minutes. At idle it seems to be fine and when engine is turned off the smoke will whisp out for a few.

The engine is not overheating, there is no smoke visible at all in the engine compartment or underneath the chassis, as far as I can tell there is no performance lost, coolant level is topped off (I had hose replaced and new water pump installed by dealer a few months ago), and I am absolutely stumped. :dunno

One of my friends thought it could be head gasket, but I've heard that car would be overheating etc. Last time I filled up was with Mobile Plus (89 octane) gas as required, so I'm kinda positive it's not bad gas. I used fuel injector cleaner this past summer, so I don't believe they are dirty. Oil change was done ahead of schedule less then 900 miles ago by the dealer.

Sorry for the information overload, but this is really bothering me :emo

check your coolant to see if there is any oil in it. Basically it will look like chocolate milk. If so, then there's your headgasket issue.

I checked everything out with a friend and the general opinion seems to be bad gas/water in the tank. I'm gonna pick up some fuel injector cleaner and fill up with mobil premium or whatever and see what happens. Thanks for the help though. =)

instead of fuel injector cleaner try using drygas.

Well now the general opinion seems to be possibly one of my seals has crapped out, I'm not sure which one (piston, valve, cylinder etc??), but doesn't sound good =(

I will however try the drygas and see if that works, many thanks.

Sardaukar -

Can you run a compression and leak test. This would be the best bet to determine if you have seal problems. In addition, like I suggested to Rich ... put some UV dye into your coolant level to determine if you are leaking coolant somewhere.

Well tomorrow (friday) i'm bringing it into school and hopefully the auto shop people can figure out. I'm seriously losing sleep though over the fact I've heard it could be piston rings (engine rebuild) :bawl

I really have no clue whats wrong, I mean I havn't misshifted or anything, red-lined etc. It just started smoking one day... As soon as I figure out whats wrong I'll post details. All I can ask if for someone to reassure me its not piston rings :95

I also had another weird issue, i was starting from a stop in traffic and as the clutch caught (first gear) the pedal wouldn't move up anymore. Now, from what i can feel and tell the clutch was fully engaged. After a few hard kicks however it was back to normal. It happened once the other day too, but everytime I try to reproduce the problem (and I tried for 30 minutes in an empty parking lot) I can't... So for now I'll blame it on the weather.

I really appreciate you guys helping out, I just hope it doesn't come to a rebuild. If it does, well then I'll have to sell it and i really love my car. I doubt I'll be able to get another bimmer, so this has got me really upset. Thanks for the help again guys, it is much appreciated.

What does the smoke smell like? Oil, gas, or is it kind of sweet, like anti-freeze? What's the weather like - did the "smoke" start when the weather cooled off? Could it just be condensation, like your breath on a cold day?

Jim

Well the weather has cooled off and the smoke has the color and consistency of condensation. It does not smell like anti-freeze, but like regular exhaust. Im fairly positive it isn't condensation, maybe it's the gas.

If you stick your hand in it, does it feel oily?

Jim

well it feels moist and my hand will kinda get clammy, but it feels like water not oil.

Since it has been getting cold out, you'll notice it more. But, what you have there is normal condensation being blown out from your cat.

It goes away once the car warms up, right? When you drive, notice other cars as well, you'll see water come dribbling out their exhausts. Especially when they accellerate away from a light.

Well, let's see. You aren't losing coolant or overheating, and the exhaust doesn't smell like coolant - odds are that it's not coolant, which is one of the possible symptoms of a bad head gasket. The exhaust isn't oily, which pretty much rules out burning oil, which is another symptom of a bad head gasket. So, I'd guess that your head gasket is OK - the other possibility is that the head gasket is blown between two cylinders, but you aren't down on power.

The exhaust isn't oily, so it probably isn't running rich. We've pretty much ruled out oil, gas, and coolant, so the only thing left is condensation.

If you really wanted to, you could do a compression test, leakdown test, pressure test the cooling system, and a dye-check. My guess, though is that it would all be a waste of time and money...You aren't experiencing any real problems - no overheating, no coolant loss, you aren't down on power. Did your mileage suddenly get really bad, or are you losing oil?

Jim

Well I've noticed it will start smoking as I approach normal operating temperature, stay that way for a bit, then more or less disappear. I've pretty much stopped worrying and have come to terms that it is just condensation, even if it does smoke more then other cars.

I just finished working two 40 hour weeks at work (while juggling my school work) and including a 15 hour shift the other day (labor laws?!?) as i am saving money to fix my rear bumper, as well as front (kinda dropping on the right) (~$500), Have to get two new front impact sensors installed by the stealer (~$550), and save up for the paint job, chrome grill, new floor mats, black plastic reconditioning kit, leather reconditioning kit, aluminum dash trim, etc =)

I just got my new shift knob in the mail and my aluminum pedal set is coming. If anyone has a window motor for sale (rear left if it matters), pm me with a price. Many thanks, I really appreciate your guys help.

Shift knob and Pedal Set I bought:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&category=33710&item=2433862198

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&category=33700&item=2434303162

Now I just have to figure out how to get my leather hand brake cover off...